Jacob Cornelius
Jacob Wayne Cornelius, 84, retired Whitewater community farmer and former Boeing Aircraft and Reznick Motors employee, died April 29, 2002, at the Veterans Hospital in Wichita.
He was born Jan. 31, 1918, at Whitewater, the first of nine children of the late George and Alice (Corman) Cornelius.
He went into the U.S. Army in 1941 and served with the 3rd Armored Division in Europe, serving in the Battle of the Bulge. He attended annual reunions of the division.
Though he would not talk about his combat experiences during his younger days, in recent years he often related incidents of his Army life.
After the war he worked for Reznick and later was a crew chief at Boeing.
While working at Boeing he gradually took over the family farm, and eventually became a full time farmer.
He also operated a custom hay baling business for area farmers.
Survivors include son Douglas of Columbus, Ohio; daughter, Joan VanDyne of Tulsa, Okla.; brothers George of Athol, Mass., Lawrence of Wichita, Charles of Whitewater, Robert of Wichita, and Joe of El Dorado; sisters, Margaret Fleming of Crescent City, Calif., Mildred Brown and Wilma Carter of Whitewater; as well as nephews.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Federated Church in Whitewater with burial in Whitewater Cemetery.
A memorial fund has been established in his name with the American Legion Post at Whitewater, and one with Hynes Memorial Hospice.
